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Adam Levitan

Waiver Wired

Waiver Wire: Week 4

WIDE RECEIVERS1. Ryan Broyles, Lions – Owned in 21 percent of Yahoo leaguesNate Burleson broke his arm in a car accident on Tuesday morning and is out indefinitely. That makes Ryan Broyles the primary slot receiver on a team that led the NFL in pass attempts last year and ranks ninth so far this year. So even though Broyles’ health is a little shaky as he comes off another ACL tear, he’s worth adding in all formats to see if his knee holds up. Broyles was on a “pitch count” in Week 3 (his 2013 debut) and posted a 3/34/0 line via three targets on 17 snaps. Going forward, the Lions can’t afford to keep his snaps in check. They’ll have to just let him play and pray the knee isn’t a problem. That should lead to some very solid PPR numbers for a talented guy that just knows how to get open. Burleson ranked 11th in the NFL in catches (19), 21st in receiving yards (239) and 35th in targets (23).Recommendation: Should be owned in 10-team leagues

2. Stephen Hill, Jets – Owned in 6 percent of Yahoo leaguesStephen Hill has been a “yeah but” guy. As in, he has Calvin Johnsonesque physical tools, but he always makes mistakes like a drop, bad route or a fumble. There’s been some of that this year, but there have also been signs that he’s turning the corner in his second NFL season. Hill has seven catches for 194 yards with one touchdown over the last two games. He’s a big play waiting to happen after the catch and Jets offensive coordinator is intent on giving him chances. Hill leads the Jets with 23 targets through three games. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues

3. Santonio Holmes, Jets – Owned in 10 percent of Yahoo leaguesPerhaps we should have seen Santonio Holmes’ big Week 3 coming. He played on 93.2 percent of the snaps in Week 2, his foot appears 100 percent and the Bills secondary is down to mostly second-stringers. Still, Holmes looked far better than we ever thought he would this season. He piled up 10 targets, a sign rookie quarterback Geno Smith is gaining faith in the former Pro Bowler. He separated with ease and made plays vertically. Holmes is going to be boom-or-bust thanks to the raw Smith, but Jets OC Marty Mornhinweg wants to throw to win. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues

4. Kendall Wright, Titans – Owned in 20 percent of Yahoo leaguesKenny Britt is dropping passes, taking penalties, getting benched and sending out ill-advised tweets. His playing time is starting to tumble. Here are the Week 2 Titans WR snaps: Nate Washington 60, Kendall Wright 43, Britt 39, Justin Hunter 9. Technically, Hunter is Britt’s direct backup at the X spot. But Wright is certainly capable of handling himself all over the formation and the Titans would do well to get their best playmaker more looks. Wright’s role is growing as the Titans enter a four-game stretch against high-quality opponents (Jets, Chiefs, Seahawks, 49ers). They’ll be in comeback mode plenty. Recommendation: Should be owned in deeper 12-team leagues

5. Nate Washington, Titans – Owned in 6 percent of Yahoo leaguesI discussed the Kenny Britt situation above. The bottom line is that Washington is left as the de facto top wideout and he responded with a 8/101/0 line in Week 3. Washington is still ranked below Kendall Wright because he brings less big-play appeal and will draw top corners. That starts in Week 4, when the Titans face Antonio Cromartie and the Jets. Recommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues

6. Cordarrelle Patterson, Vikings – Owned in 25 percent of Yahoo leaguesThe Vikings admitted they made a mistake in the first two weeks by only playing Cordarrelle Patterson 12 snaps. They did a little to rectify that error in Week 3, giving him 19 snaps (24.0 percent). The first-round freak responded with two catches for 49 yards on four targets. As Jerome Simpson continues to scuffle at X, the Vikings will manufacture more and more touches for Patterson. He’s a quality stashRecommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues

7. Donnie Avery, Chiefs – Owned in 11 percent of Yahoo leaguesIt’s hard to believe in Avery’s seven-catch, 141-yard Thursday night blowup. Primarily a situational deep threat throughout his career, Avery found success running shallow crossing routes for checkdown king Alex Smith. He was able to take those short passes and turn them into huge gains because the Eagles secondary is right there with the Redskins in terms of tackling. A real defense would have taken Avery’s head off. Avery remains a weak WR5 type. Recommendation: Should be owned in 16-team leagues

Normally, we see lots of interesting waiver adds at the wideout and tight end spots. More of them play each week so there are more chances for injury, more chances for breakouts and more of them on the wire. This week is unique because most of the best adds are at the running back spot.

It’s a chance for owners grasping at straws to get a little depth on their roster as we head into the bye weeks. As always, I’m far more likely to burn FAAB money or waiver priority on a running back than any other position – especially if I think a running back will have longer-term value.

On to the assets. Here is how I would rank the top players available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo leagues at each position. Notes and recommendations on each player will follow below.

Editor's Note: Rotoworld's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-week $250,000 Fantasy Football league for Week 4. It's $25 to join and first prize is $25,000. Starts Sunday at 1pm ET. Here's the link.

QUARTERBACKS1. Terrelle Pryor, Raiders – Owned in 20 percent of Yahoo leaguesIn last week’s Waiver Wired, I discussed how Terrelle Pryor should not be cut despite a poor statistical game against the Jaguars. He showed why on Monday night. With the Raiders predictably in comeback mode, Pryor completed 19-of-28 passes for a career-high 281 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran four times for 36 yards. The impressive passing performance prompted former NFL scout John Middlekauff to say that Pryor is more polished in the pocket at this point in his career than Cam Newton was four games into his NFL career. If Pryor (concussion) gets cleared in time for a Week 4 matchup with the Redskins, he’ll be a top-14 option. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues

2. Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins – Owned in 17 percent of Yahoo leaguesIt’s a hat trick bonanza for Ryan Tannehill – he’s been featured in Waiver Wired for three straight weeks and he has the Dolphins at 3-0. The scary part is that the one-time college wideout keeps getting better. Tannehill’s completion percentage has risen in each of the first three weeks and now sits at 66.4, 9th-best in the NFL. He hasn’t even used his underrated legs yet. Last year, Tannehill ran for 211 yards with two touchdowns. This year, he has run for just 11 yards and no scores. Tannehill is a better fantasy backup than Philip Rivers, Alex Smith, E.J. Manuel and Andy Dalton among others. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues

3. Jake Locker, Titans – Owned in 6 percent of Yahoo leaguesJake Locker has the two things fantasy owners covet in a sleeper quarterback: Running ability and arm strength. He put that combo on display against the Chargers in Week 3, throwing for 299 yards and rushing five times for 68 yards with a touchdown. The problem is that gems like this have been few and far between as he’s often uncomfortable going through reads and inaccurate in a muddied pocket. Perhaps he’s finally turning a corner. Locker has no interceptions this season and his 58.6 completion percentage is a career-high. Owners looking short-term should note brutal spots against the Jets, Chiefs, Seahawks and 49ers over the next four weeks. Owners looking further ahead should note Locker faces the Jaguars in Week 10 and Week 16 (fantasy Super Bowl week). He also gets the Raiders in Week 12 and the Colts in Weeks 11 and 13. Recommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues

4. Geno Smith, Jets – Owned in 5 percent of Yahoo leaguesIf Santonio Holmes is actually going to show up at 100 percent and Stephen Hill isn’t going to drop easy passes, Smith is set up for some success. Just don’t expect anything like Week 3, when Smith took advantage of an injury-ravaged Bills defense to the tune of 331 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and an 8-yard touchdown run. He’s just too raw to sustain production like that. Smith does get a good matchup in Week 5 (when Robert Griffin III and Ben Roethlisberger are on a bye) as the Jets will play in Atlanta. There’s some shootout appeal there.Recommendation: Should be owned in 16-team leagues

Editor’s Note: For more waiver thoughts and news from around the league, follow Adam Levitan, Rotoworld Football and our dominant News Page.RUNNING BACKS1. Bilal Powell, Jets – Owned in 46 percent of Yahoo leaguesBilal Powell wasn’t simply handed the starting running back job. He earned it by outplaying Chris Ivory in camp. That triumph led to 16 touches in Week 1 and 15 touches in Week 2. But the real party came in Week 3 as Ivory aggravated a hamstring injury that had bothered him in August, and left after four snaps. Powell stepped up in a big way, ripping through holes for 149 yards on 27 carries. Now Ivory is out indefinitely, meaning Powell will be an every-down back for at least the next couple weeks. He won’t get a softer spot than he had against the Bills decimated defense, but he does get plus matchups against the Titans and Falcons. Powell is a plug-n-play flex option in the short-term and has a chance to extend his lead in this committee over the long term. I wouldn’t consider Mike Goodson (due back Week 5) a real threat with Powell playing so well. Recommendation: Should be owned in 10-team leagues

2. Pierre Thomas, Saints – Owned in 45 percent of Yahoo leaguesEven before Mark Ingram went down with a toe injury, there was speculation that Pierre Thomas would start moving ahead of the former first-round pick. Then trade rumors popped up Sunday. Add it up and we have Thomas and Darren Sproles sharing time in the Saints backfield, using short passes as an extension of the run game. It’s a far better fit than trying to ram Ingram’s square frame into a round hole. Thomas played on just 34.2 percent of the snaps in Weeks 1 and 2 combined, but got a bump to 53.9 percent in Week 3 as Ingram sat. If the toe injury lingers or a trade goes down, Thomas is going to be a PPR dynamo with upside in standard leagues because of his ability in the screen game. Even if Ingram returns, Thomas projects to keep his snap count up around 50 percent. Recommendation: Should be owned in 10-team leagues

3. Brandon Bolden, Patriots – Owned in 2 percent of Yahoo leaguesDon’t take this as a shot at Stevan Ridley. Although Brandon Bolden goes 5’11/220, the Patriots actually see him in their passing-back role. Ridley and Bolden each played 26 snaps in Week 3. But when Bolden was in, they called 21 passes – leading to five catches for 49 yards. Ridley shared the early-down and clock-killing runs with LeGarrette Blount. In other words, Bolden has quickly carved out a role for himself despite missing the first two games of the season with a knee injury. Shane Vereen won’t be back until Week 11, giving Bolden plenty of room to run with his opportunity as a poor man’s “joker.” Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team PPR leagues

4. Isaiah Pead, Rams – Owned in 14 percent of Yahoo leaguesPead was the No. 1 running back on this list ahead of Week 1, No. 6 in Week 2 and No. 5 in Week 3. That was because we knew he’d come off suspension after just one game and immediately start pushing Daryl Richardson for snaps. The talent gap between these two just isn’t that great. Things took an unexpected turn early on Sunday when Richardson got his injured foot stepped on and left after two snaps. That left Pead to play 42 snaps and Benny Cunningham to play 22. Pead responded with seven catches for 43 yards and six runs for 20 yards. After this week’s tough Thursday night matchup against the 49ers, the Rams host the Jags in Week 5. That will be Pead’s big chance to put his footprint on this committee. The status of Richardson’s foot is unclear right now, although he says he’ll play Thursday. He was tagged as a limited participant in Monday’s practice. Recommendation: Should be owned in 10-team leagues

5. Danny Woodhead, Chargers – Owned in 36 percent of Yahoo leaguesAs noted following Week 2, Danny Woodhead has seized the majority of four-minute and third-down duties from Ronnie Brown. Ryan Mathews never got a sniff there under new coach Mike McCoy. It’s led to a ton of PPR production for Woodhead (15 catches over last two weeks) as the Chargers are executing a quick-hitting offense to hide their offensive line and Rivers’ arm decline. The scary part is that the Chargers haven’t even been trailing much this season. Each of their two losses has come via comebacks from their opponents. If/when the Chargers are getting bludgeoned, Woodhead will have an even bigger role.Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team PPR leagues

6. Jason Snelling, Falcons – Owned in 17 percent of Yahoo leaguesSteven Jackson (thigh/hamstring) is expected to sit out through the Week 6 bye. It’s not a surprise as he’s 30 years old and has a history of struggling with soft-tissue injuries. And as we saw in Week 3, the Falcons are capable of getting production by alternating at the running back spot. Despite a tough matchup at Miami, Jacquizz Rodgers started and got 20 touches on 43 snaps. Jason Snelling got 15 touches on 34 snaps. Still, the Falcons have two tough matchups coming up (vs. Patriots, vs. Jets). Rodgers and Snelling are middling talents that will be sharing reps on a team that projects to throw. Both are risky plays. I'd give Snelling the slight -- and I mean slight -- edge as the more productive player and the one more likely to get a touchdown.Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues

9. Andre Ellington, Cardinals – Owned in 10 percent of Yahoo leaguesHere’s the Cardinals RB snap count from Week 3: Andre Ellington 27, Rashard Mendenhall 23, Alfonso Smith 18, Stepfan Taylor 1. There are certainly circumstances here – Mendenhall was nursing a toe injury and the Cardinals played from way behind for most of the game. But we can’t deny that Ellington gives the Cards more juice in the open field and a better check-down option for Carson Palmer. Coach Bruce Arians has also said he believes Ellington is capable of being a three-down back.Recommendation: Should be owned in deeper 14-team leagues

10. Jonathan Dwyer, Steelers – Owned in 8 percent of Yahoo leaguesJonathan Dwyer was the best running back on the Steelers Sunday night. Yes, it’s a little like being crowned the best member of Hanson or the coolest chick on Real Housewives. But Dwyer did seize a role going forward by standing up blitzers in the passing game and running for 39 yards on 12 carries. Felix Jones lost a bad fumble. However, Dwyer’s appeal won’t last too long. Le’Veon Bell (foot) is practicing and reportedly will play in Week 4. Bell will have a very good shot at being 100 percent after the Week 5 bye, making Dwyer a mere stash in deeper formats. Recommendation: Should be owned in 16-team leagues

Cut Bait:Donald Brown, Felix Jones, Bobby Rainey, Da’Rel Scott, Ronnie Brown, Robert Turbin, Isaac Redman, Zac Stacy, Mikel Leshoure – Trent Richardson’s arrival confirms the Colts have no faith in Brown. … Felix fumbled, got outplayed by Jonathan Dwyer and Le’Veon Bell should be back soon. … Rainey saw just 22 snaps even though Willis McGahee just arrived. … Scott is just a passing-down blocker. … Brown is well behind Danny Woodhead. … Turbin is a mere third-down back whether Marshawn Lynch is healthy or not. … Isaac Redman played seven snaps in Week 3 and Le’Veon Bell (foot) is coming back soon. … Zac Stacy is behind Benny Cunningham. … Leshoure played zero snaps even though Reggie Bush was inactive. WIDE RECEIVERS1. Ryan Broyles, Lions – Owned in 21 percent of Yahoo leaguesNate Burleson broke his arm in a car accident on Tuesday morning and is out indefinitely. That makes Ryan Broyles the primary slot receiver on a team that led the NFL in pass attempts last year and ranks ninth so far this year. So even though Broyles’ health is a little shaky as he comes off another ACL tear, he’s worth adding in all formats to see if his knee holds up. Broyles was on a “pitch count” in Week 3 (his 2013 debut) and posted a 3/34/0 line via three targets on 17 snaps. Going forward, the Lions can’t afford to keep his snaps in check. They’ll have to just let him play and pray the knee isn’t a problem. That should lead to some very solid PPR numbers for a talented guy that just knows how to get open. Burleson ranked 11th in the NFL in catches (19), 21st in receiving yards (239) and 35th in targets (23).Recommendation: Should be owned in 10-team leagues

2. Stephen Hill, Jets – Owned in 6 percent of Yahoo leaguesStephen Hill has been a “yeah but” guy. As in, he has Calvin Johnsonesque physical tools, but he always makes mistakes like a drop, bad route or a fumble. There’s been some of that this year, but there have also been signs that he’s turning the corner in his second NFL season. Hill has seven catches for 194 yards with one touchdown over the last two games. He’s a big play waiting to happen after the catch and Jets offensive coordinator is intent on giving him chances. Hill leads the Jets with 23 targets through three games. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues

3. Santonio Holmes, Jets – Owned in 10 percent of Yahoo leaguesPerhaps we should have seen Santonio Holmes’ big Week 3 coming. He played on 93.2 percent of the snaps in Week 2, his foot appears 100 percent and the Bills secondary is down to mostly second-stringers. Still, Holmes looked far better than we ever thought he would this season. He piled up 10 targets, a sign rookie quarterback Geno Smith is gaining faith in the former Pro Bowler. He separated with ease and made plays vertically. Holmes is going to be boom-or-bust thanks to the raw Smith, but Jets OC Marty Mornhinweg wants to throw to win. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues

4. Kendall Wright, Titans – Owned in 20 percent of Yahoo leaguesKenny Britt is dropping passes, taking penalties, getting benched and sending out ill-advised tweets. His playing time is starting to tumble. Here are the Week 2 Titans WR snaps: Nate Washington 60, Kendall Wright 43, Britt 39, Justin Hunter 9. Technically, Hunter is Britt’s direct backup at the X spot. But Wright is certainly capable of handling himself all over the formation and the Titans would do well to get their best playmaker more looks. Wright’s role is growing as the Titans enter a four-game stretch against high-quality opponents (Jets, Chiefs, Seahawks, 49ers). They’ll be in comeback mode plenty. Recommendation: Should be owned in deeper 12-team leagues

5. Nate Washington, Titans – Owned in 6 percent of Yahoo leaguesI discussed the Kenny Britt situation above. The bottom line is that Washington is left as the de facto top wideout and he responded with a 8/101/0 line in Week 3. Washington is still ranked below Kendall Wright because he brings less big-play appeal and will draw top corners. That starts in Week 4, when the Titans face Antonio Cromartie and the Jets. Recommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues

6. Cordarrelle Patterson, Vikings – Owned in 25 percent of Yahoo leaguesThe Vikings admitted they made a mistake in the first two weeks by only playing Cordarrelle Patterson 12 snaps. They did a little to rectify that error in Week 3, giving him 19 snaps (24.0 percent). The first-round freak responded with two catches for 49 yards on four targets. As Jerome Simpson continues to scuffle at X, the Vikings will manufacture more and more touches for Patterson. He’s a quality stashRecommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues

7. Donnie Avery, Chiefs – Owned in 11 percent of Yahoo leaguesIt’s hard to believe in Avery’s seven-catch, 141-yard Thursday night blowup. Primarily a situational deep threat throughout his career, Avery found success running shallow crossing routes for checkdown king Alex Smith. He was able to take those short passes and turn them into huge gains because the Eagles secondary is right there with the Redskins in terms of tackling. A real defense would have taken Avery’s head off. Avery remains a weak WR5 type. Recommendation: Should be owned in 16-team leagues

Cut Bait:Leonard Hankerson, Jerricho Cotchery, Malcom Floyd, Harry Douglas, Jacoby Jones – Leonard Hankerson is behind Santana Moss on the target totem pole. … Cotchery slips further with Heath Miller’s return. … Floyd (neck) is going to miss a month or more. … Roddy White’s ankle should be getting better, leaving Douglas with even less of a role. … Jacoby Jones reportedly got a bottle of alcohol smashed over his head by a stripper named “Sweet Pea.” He’s no lock to get the No. 2 job back from Marlon Brown anyway. TIGHT ENDS1. Heath Miller, Steelers – Owned in 26 percent of Yahoo leaguesHeath Miller is doing his best Adrian Peterson impersonation. Just nine months after tearing his ACL, MCL and PCL, Miller returned to the field on Sunday night and immediately made an impact for the Steelers. His snaps were intentionally limited (39-of-66), but he posted an encouraging 3/35/0 line on four targets and also handled himself well as a blocker. If Miller can truly get back to 100 percent, he’ll be playing every snap just like he did last year, serving as a security blanket for Ben Roethlisberger. Remember that in 2012, Miller posted 71 catches for 816 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 games. He’s not sexy, but few of the TE2s on waivers are.Recommendation: Should be owned in deeper 12-team leagues

2. Coby Fleener, Colts – Owned in 32 percent of Yahoo leaguesLet’s throw out Coby Fleener’s 2/13/0 line on two targets from Week 3. The Colts were surprisingly able to run the ball at San Francisco, leading to just 27 pass attempts for Andrew Luck. Fleener still played on 49 snaps, Dwayne Allen (hip) is still out for the season and Fleener remains a seam-pusher for offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton. Nothing has changed since last week when I talked up Fleener here. Recommendation: Should be owned in deeper 12-team leagues

3. Charles Clay, Dolphins – Owned in 28 percent of Yahoo leaguesWeek 3 was another typical day at the office for Clay. He played on 82.1 percent of the snaps, earned six targets in the pass game and caught four balls for 40 yards. Here’s the target distribution in Miami through three games: Brian Hartline 29, Mike Wallace 21, Brandon Gibson 20, Charles Clay 19. Yes, Clay only has two fewer targets than 60 Minutes. He also leads the team in YAC with 95 yards, proving his underrated speed. Recommendation: Should be owned in deeper 12-team leagues

4. Scott Chandler, Bills – Owned in 5 percent of Yahoo leaguesHere’s another burly, slowish tight end coming off a Week 16 ACL tear. Just like Heath Miller, Scott Chandler has made his way back into the field surprisingly fast. And through three weeks, Chandler has actually been a big part of the offense. He’s played on 208-of-227 snaps (91.6 percent) and is tied for second on the team in targets with 18. Chandler busted out with a 5/79/1 line against the Jets and we can expect more comeback mode chances going forward. The Bills face the Ravens, Browns, Bengals, Dolphins, Saints and Chiefs over the next six weeks. Those teams have a combined record of 14-4. Recommendation: Should be owned in 14-team leagues

5. Brandon Pettigrew, Lions – Owned in 39 percent of Yahoo leaguesSome of the underneath targets that Nate Burleson would have received will go to Brandon Pettigrew. The problem is that he’s proven he won’t do much with them. Pettigrew has caught 4.13 passes per game in his five-year NFL career, but has averaged just 9.9 YPC and scored a grand total of 14 touchdowns. He’s a “catch it and go down” kind of guy. That’s only useful in deep PPR formats.Recommendation: Should be owned in 14-team PPR leagues

6. Rob Housler, Cardinals – Owned in 11 percent of Yahoo leaguesA popular sleeper tight end in some circles, Rob Housler missed the first two weeks of the season due to a high ankle sprain. He returned in Week 3, catching one pass for 13 yards on three targets while playing on 39-of-58 snaps (67.2 percent). Although Housler has serious pass-catching chops, Bruce Arians’ history of not using tight ends as receivers is concerning. And given the Cardinals offensive line issues, the tight end spot will be needed to block a ton. Recommendation: Should be owned in 16-team leagues

Watch list:Brent Celek, Jordan Reed, Lardarius Green – Celek continues to play just about every down and run a ton of routes. He’s going to have some productive games with that usage. … Reed would have been third on this list if he didn’t hurt his quad during Week 3. The rookie was getting ready to leave Fred Davis in the dust. … Lardarius Green is Antonio Gates backup, but he’s a really talented dude. Green will be a strong add if Gates gets hurt.

Cut Bait:Delanie Walker, Garrett Graham, Vance McDonald, Ed Dickson – Walker was spotted with a walking boot on his left foot Monday. … Graham didn’t even see a target in Week 3 as he nurses a groin injury. Those big lines in Weeks 1 and 2 were flukes anyway. … Even with Vernon Davis (hamstring) sidelined, McDonald managed a meager 1/6/0 line on three targets. … Dickson has gone two straight weeks without a catch.

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS1. Titans – Owned in 26 percent of Yahoo leaguesWe’ve seen the Titans defense go to Pittsburgh in Week 1 and give up just seven points. We saw them hold the Chargers to 277 total yards in a Week 3 win. Now they’ll play at home again, this time against rookie quarterback Geno Smith and the Jets, who are coming off a hard-fought win over the Bills. Smith has thrown six interceptions and fumbled once through three games.

2. Chiefs – Owned in 33 percent of Yahoo leaguesIt’s way past time to take this Chiefs unit seriously. Justin Houston leads the NFL in sacks with 7.5, Dontari Poe has turned into a dominator in the middle and Eric Berry is excelling as a cover safety. We know Tamba Hali, Brandon Flowers and Derrick Johnson are going to do their thing. The Giants’ offense will almost certainly bounce back off their humiliating Week 3 loss at Carolina, but protecting Eli Manning will be an issue. His eight interceptions lead the league.

3. Colts – Owned in 6 percent of Yahoo leaguesThis isn’t a great spot for the Colts in general. They’re coming off an emotional, impressive road win at San Francisco and now have to go to woeful Jacksonville. It’s a standard let-down spot. Still, the Jags offense is bad enough that the Colts can sleep through the first couple quarters and then wake up in time to make plays. They’re only giving up 14.6 points per game on the season.

KICKERS1. Robbie Gould, Bears – Owned in 27 percent of Yahoo leaguesRobbie Gould has long been one of the game’s most accurate and strong-legged kickers, but his fantasy appeal was thwarted by an uneven offensive attack. Not anymore. With quarterback whisperer Marc Trestman in town, Jay Cutler is completing a career-high 67.3 percent of his passes and the Bears are scoring 31.7 points per game. Gould will be kicking in a dome against the Lions weak secondary in Week 4.

2. Caleb Sturgis, Dolphins – Owned in 7 percent of Yahoo leaguesI had Caleb Sturgis in this space last week and he rewarded us with a make from 46 yards out and another from 50. He’s now 6-of-6 on the season, including 5-of-5 from 40-plus. Sturgis will have a good look at some more bombs at New Orleans on Monday night. The game is in a dome and the Dolphins shouldn’t have trouble moving the ball.

3. Steven Hauschka, Seahawks – Owned in 33 percent of Yahoo leaguesWhile kicking for Seattle from 2011-12, Steven Hauschka averaged 113.5 points per season and totaled eight makes from 50+ yards out. This year, he’s on pace for 128 points – a sign that the Seahawks offense is maturing under Russell Wilson. More chances, more points. Hauschka will have plus conditions at Houston in Week 4 and at Indy in Week 5.

Adam Levitan is in his sixth season covering football and basketball for Rotoworld. He won the Fantasy Sports Writers Association award for Best Series in 2011 and 2009, and ESPN's overall fantasy football title in 2000. Find him on Twitter.Email :Adam Levitan